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The Automobile Journalists Association of Canada, AJAC, announced this week its recipients of its annual Canadian Green Car of the Year and Canadian Green Utility Vehicle of the Year awards. For 2017, two Toyota models won top honors as the 2017 Toyota Prius and 2017 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid finished first in their respective segments.

This is the first time that two models from the same brand have won the prestigious titles that aim to recognize vehicles that stand out in their segments, but also in the industry, in terms of energy efficiency and fuel economy.

"Our panel of 60-plus voting journalists sequentially drives every vehicle in a testing category, and their scoring is combined with objective data like cargo space, braking test figures and emissions. Scores are weighted for relevance to the vehicle category in question," says CCOTY Co-Chair Justin Pritchard. "Our Canadian Green Car of the Year and Canadian Green Utility Vehicle of the Year entries are selected from amongst standard entries that meet specific fuel efficiency criteria. Our voting panel casts a separate ballot for these models, focusing on Green characteristics including range, recharge/refuel time and price. That's combined with the overall CCOTY score—that is—how the vehicle stacks up to its competition. Today, Green cars come in many shapes and sizes, and this testing process ensures we take that into consideration".

The 2017 Toyota Prius finished ahead of the Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid and the Kia Optima Hybrid while the 2017 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid finished first in front of the Subaru Forester and the Mazda CX-9 2017.

"Toyota is committed to maintaining its leadership position in designing, engineering and building environmentally-advanced vehicles that meet the many demands of today's drivers – which is why the 2017 Prius sets new standards for efficiency and emissions even as it provides owners with more style and driving fun," said Cyril Dimitris, Vice-President, Toyota Canada Inc. "We're delighted that members of AJAC agree, and thank them for this important award."

2017 Toyota Prius and 2017 RAV4 Hybrid: fuel economy and safety

Introduced on the market this year, the all-new Toyota Prius is available starting at $ 27,190 and comes standard with the Toyota Safety Sense P safety technology package that includes adaptive cruise control, pedestrian detection, lane departure warning system and automatic headlights. In addition to its safety, the 2017 Toyota Prius is one of the most fuel-efficient cars on the market today with an average fuel consumption rating of just 4.4 liters per 100 kilometers in the city.

The 2017 RAV4 Hybrid is equipped with a hybrid engine that delivers 194 horsepower with an average fuel consumption rating of only 6.9 liters per 100 kilometers in the city. Toyota's compact SUV also offers all the Toyota Safety Sense P safety features found the Prius and most new Toyota vehicles.